I few years ago I started down the route to getting a C licence, but after getting my provisional and passing the theory test my circumstances changed and I never did the practical test. I haven’t really thought about it until today, when I am faced with a friend who, due to an injury (dislocated but reset shoulder), may struggle to drive tomorrow and I wondered if I can help.
The truck is a 17T horse lorry and is actually shared ownership between him and me. It will be used to transport horses (including one of mine) to and from a local competition. I will not be paid - it will effectively be me helping out to see my horse compete. I am not, nor have ever been a professional driver.
Assuming the insurance can be sorted, can I drive this truck with him supervising? All of the Googling I have done simply talks about the provisional licence as a means to the full one, I can’t find anything about it as a long-term situation.
Not 100% sure mate, but I think your mate with the licence will need to have held his licence for over 3 years AND be approved as a proper LGV trainer before you are allowed to drive the lorry on ‘L’ plates with him as your ‘trainer.’
weasley:
I few years ago I started down the route to getting a C licence, but after getting my provisional and passing the theory test my circumstances changed and I never did the practical test. I haven’t really thought about it until today, when I am faced with a friend who, due to an injury (dislocated but reset shoulder), may struggle to drive tomorrow and I wondered if I can help.
The truck is a 17T horse lorry and is actually shared ownership between him and me. It will be used to transport horses (including one of mine) to and from a local competition. I will not be paid - it will effectively be me helping out to see my horse compete. I am not, nor have ever been a professional driver.
Assuming the insurance can be sorted, can I drive this truck with him supervising? All of the Googling I have done simply talks about the provisional licence as a means to the full one, I can’t find anything about it as a long-term situation.
No probs - go for it
LICENCE LAW
You can drive any LGV C rigid as a learner providing the supervising driver has held the C licence for at least 3 years
L plates needed front and rear
Correct insurance for a learner (you) when you are driving
The supervising driver does not have to be insured or even fit to drive it when they act as a supervising driver HOWEVER they must be alert enough to give you competant guidance
DCPC LAW (for driving LGV commercially … does not apply to private)
As the vehicle is being used for Licence aquisition you will be exempt from dcpc
VEHICLE OVER 7.5 TONNES / EU driver regs
If commercial then you will come under EU regs and have to use a tacho
If private then it is exempt from the EU regs
Is this a commercial or private operation ?
Commercial means to make or intend to make a profit
Not sure about that one. I know the DSA are changing the way testing is done… with a loaded trailer. But that is with IBCs not a paid load.
A LGV C learner under correct supervising driver etc can a fully loaded commercial operation 32 tonner on any road/m’way
They would be under EU regs in the above situation but exempt dcpc as the vehicle is being used for licence aquisition
ROG:
If private then it is exempt from the EU regs
Only if it was 7.5t or under which it isn’t. If it was only used for training it would be exempt under that specific rule.
561/2006 EXEMPTIONS
Vehicles used for driving instruction and examination
with a view to obtaining a driving licence or a certificate
of professional competence, provided that they are
not being used for the commercial carriage of goods or
passengers.
ROG:
If private then it is exempt from the EU regs
Only if it was 7.5t or under which it isn’t. If it was only used for training it would be exempt under that specific rule.
561/2006 EXEMPTIONS
Vehicles used for driving instruction and examination
with a view to obtaining a driving licence or a certificate
of professional competence, provided that they are
not being used for the commercial carriage of goods or
passengers.
Thanks all. The truth is that I would be doing it in pursuance of a hobby (the ownership of a competition horse) however the friend, who is also the rider, does this as his profession, so although the competition is not, in itself, a means to earn money (far from it!) it is an activity directly connected to his job, which is keeping and training competition horses. Having read into it, I think it would be difficult to defend that the overall operation was not related to a commercial enterprise (especially as the truck has corporate sponsorship written all over it).
The use of LGVs for horses is a minefield and plenty of people have been caught for not having operators licences, not using tacho’s, not having a CDC etc, usually quite innocently (or, perhaps more accurately, ignorantly). I might give it a miss (although would love to give it a go, having driven 7.5T horse and other lorries before).
weasley:
Thanks all. The truth is that I would be doing it in pursuance of a hobby (the ownership of a competition horse) however the friend, who is also the rider, does this as his profession, so although the competition is not, in itself, a means to earn money (far from it!) it is an activity directly connected to his job, which is keeping and training competition horses. Having read into it, I think it would be difficult to defend that the overall operation was not related to a commercial enterprise (especially as the truck has corporate sponsorship written all over it).
The use of LGVs for horses is a minefield and plenty of people have been caught for not having operators licences, not using tacho’s, not having a CDC etc, usually quite innocently (or, perhaps more accurately, ignorantly). I might give it a miss (although would love to give it a go, having driven 7.5T horse and other lorries before).
The lorry can be used for both commercial and private purposes
If the purpose you are using it for on the day you are driving it is private then it comes under private but if on analogue tacho then I would use one and put OUT OF SCOPE on the back of it along with an explanation of its use for that trip
If digi then select out of scope
The fact that there is signwriting on the side for its commercial operation will have no bearing on that trip
YOU ARE PERFECTLY OK LEGALLY if all I have mentioned is done SO DO IT
No legal issues, but if you’ve never driven a vehicle like that before then consider taking it round the block first before you try to stop and the horses just keep going.
Never driven a horse box type thing and don’t really know how the horses cope but I can see it going badly wrong if you don’t know how it handles.
Thanks again for the advice. In the end I wasn’t needed. However, on the sponsorship thing, I thought I read a while ago about a relatively famous rider who got done on the basis that sponsorship written on their lorry was, in itself, a source of income (direct or in kind) and thus driving the lorry would always come under commercial terms.
Of course the best thing for me to do would be to pull my finger out and get my C licence before the current provisional expires (I’m 41 right now, so I have just over 3 years).
weasley:
Thanks again for the advice. In the end I wasn’t needed. However, on the sponsorship thing, I thought I read a while ago about a relatively famous rider who got done on the basis that sponsorship written on their lorry was, in itself, a source of income (direct or in kind) and thus driving the lorry would always come under commercial terms.
It all depends on the circumstances at the time
Lets take something simple like a 7.5 tonne liveried company truck that an employee borrows with permission to move house
That would need no tacho as it is doing a private thing - the fact is has signwriting is mute for this purpose because it is not being used for a commercial undertaking
